This is a kit I put together for a good friend overseas. He has a light beard, but he still shaves several times per week. He reached out asking for advice on what razor to buy and I offered to put a kit together for him because he's done so much for me. I'm looking for things that can safely ship to the Philippines, but might be a little harder to find at his local drug store. I've intentionally avoided free flowing liquids and went heavy on the products that I enjoy and personally know to be easy lathering soaps and creams. I also tried to cover a spectrum of scents. Any other last additions you can think of before I drop this off at the post office Monday?

All looks good. Of course, a dab of the fingers on an alum block improves grip on the razor, which might be a useful tip for a newbie with all that Tabac slipping about the place Those Muhle handles can be a bit slippery, I find. What model is it? Not an R41 I hope

(01-20-2018, 01:24 PM)TYdeFan05 Wrote: This is a kit I put together for a good friend overseas. He has a light beard, but he still shaves several times per week. He reached out asking for advice on what razor to buy and I offered to put a kit together for him because he's done so much for me. I'm looking for things that can safely ship to the Philippines, but might be a little harder to find at his local drug store. I've intentionally avoided free flowing liquids and went heavy on the products that I enjoy and personally know to be easy lathering soaps and creams. I also tried to cover a spectrum of scents. Any other last additions you can think of before I drop this off at the post office Monday?

It's a well-rounded collection, well done.

Were I putting one together, I would add a second brush with a jolt more backbone than a Plisson-type synthetic, in order to offer an alternative lathering experience: a Semogue boar, perhaps, or (better but pricier) a Semogue two-band badger. And I would throw in an inexpensive puck of Haslinger Schafmilch in addition to the other soaps (and one cream) that you have included, not so much for the scent, but because milk-containing soaps are just, well, different from non-milk soaps.

Thanks for all the feedback, folks! I’m always trying to find the right setup for myself, so when I’m trying to think of someone else and their needs I try to cover too many bases and miss something big. That is not an R 41 thankfully. It’s an R89 I never got around to using. As for brushes with more backbone, I guess in over a decade I’ve never tried a boar myself so maybe I need to change that for two shavers . I just tried the synthetic for myself and thought enough of it that I bought another.

Good job getting your friend started with Astra's instead of the Derby's that many (including myself) started and stumbled with. I have moved to other blades, but Astras were steady and reliable. I like your soap choices as well.

(01-20-2018, 08:11 PM)shevek Wrote: Good job getting your friend started with Astra's instead of the Derby's that many (including myself) started and stumbled with. I have moved to other blades, but Astras were steady and reliable. I like your soap choices as well.

I thought a lot about that. Poor first blade choices have probably sent more than a few guys back to cartridges because of the wrong first impression. There’s a bunch of Voskhod blades in that bowl as well. Those and Astra are pleasing and cheap. Rarely at the top or bottom of anyone’s list. The Polisilvers are like getting some started on booze with a 21 year old scotch in my opinion. The feathers...I think everyone should try them but I’ve found only guys with tougher beards get their money’s worth.